INAPROBAHAN ng Kamara sa una at ikalawang pagbasa ang panukalang bigyan ng provisional authority (PA) ang ABS-CBN na makapag-ere hangang Oktubre ngayong taon.
Ayon kay House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano na naghain ng House Bill 6732, sapat ang limang buwan para pag-usapan ang 25-taon prankisa ng TV network.
Sinisi ni Cayetano ang National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) sa pabago-bagong posisyon nito sa isyu ng ABS-CBN na hahayaang mag-operate kahit expired ang prankisa habang nagsasagawa ng pagdinig ang Kamara.
Ani Cayetano, nakatuon sana ang buong atensiyon nito sa paggawa ng batas na panlaban sa pandemyang coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) kung hindi nag isyu ng cease-and-desist order laban sa TV network.
“And this is really where the leadership of Congress is coming from – we believe that these questions require our 100% attention. Not just by Congress – but of the entire nation. If there one thing that people remember about what I say today about the work of government during this time, it is this – nothing should be more important than defeating COVID-19. You cannot hope to weigh the value of our immediate response to the pandemic as against the concerns of a private corporation. There simply is no comparison,” ani Cayetano.
“Yet this is exactly what the NTC has unnecessarily forced us to do by turning back on its commitment given under oath last March 10 that ABS-CBN will be allowed to continue to Broadcast.”
Inilinaw ni Cayetano, ang pagsasagawa ng hearing ay hindi nangangahulugan na awtomatikong bibigyan ng prankisa ang ABS-CBN dahil may mga isyu laban sa kompanya na kailangan sagutin. (GERRY BALDO)